Tried for a month and a half to finish this but I'm not quite sure if my tastes have changed from me absolutely LOVING the first book or if it's the fault of the sequel itself suffering from Second Book Syndrome.

I DNF'd at 60% cause I was incredibly bored. It felt like the whole book was an unending stream of dialogue with nothing happening. After attempting the audiobook as well, I couldn't even tell who was talking the entire book. Multiple swaps in POVs with narrator changes and the tone seeming to stay consistent throughout leant for a really confusing series of hours.

At the end, I didn't really quite care enough to continue or finish it. Maybe some day I'll get back to this and try again.

3.5 stars

I absolutely loved The Spice Road—the lush world-building and complex characters made it a standout. Naturally, I was thrilled to dive into the sequel. This installment takes the story from the desert to the oceans, delivering high-stakes action against both human and non-human foes. I wasn't so into this one as book 1, but I still enjoyed it. There were some truly incredible moments, scenes that made me kick my feet and giggle. But those great moments were bittersweet because of the issues holding the story back.

While this is a solid second book, it didn’t quite surpass book 1. One of the most jarring elements was the difference in narrative perspectives—Imani’s chapters were in first person while Taha’s were in third. It’s not inherently bad, but I often found myself confused about whose perspective I was reading, which disrupted the flow. There was so much happening that the pacing felt chaotic. We didn’t spend enough time in any one place to fully develop the plot or characters. At the same time, Imani’s storyline dragged compared to Taha’s once they were split up. It all felt rushed and unsatisfying, as though the narrative needed more room to breathe. Characters like Atheer and Amira deserved more attention, and the lack of development left their arcs feeling shallow. To top it off, some of the dialogue came across as amateurish, and certain characters felt like caricatures, which made me skim through parts of the book.

Overall, despite the issues I had it's a strong continuation of the series, I am looking forward to where the story takes us in the next book.

What I enjoyed about the first book was how it was plot-driven with a fast pace, but this was the opposite. I struggled to get through the first half of the book and spent months picking it up and trying again, but I have to say - it was worth it. The beginning was very slow and I found the descriptions of everything to be too much - it made me lose focus. whereas the last third went by pretty quickly and so much was happening. While I did enjoy the story overall, I had issues with the pacing and writing style, but I will b reading the sequel when it comes out.

→ 3 stars

This was a great sequel, and a lot of the first book's plotlines were cleared up, and a few new ones were opened for a third book (I think there's gonna be one??).

- expanded world-building and story-telling, it was written so well!
- Taha's pov! He's such a complex character and this book really goes into his motivations, feelings and his past

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Besides the first few chapters, Serpent Sea was slow to begin and didn't pick up speed until after the 60% mark. The sequel to Spice Road explores Taha's past and tangle of emotions and thoughts as he and Amira are held captive by the Harrowlanders. Imani and Qayn grow closer on their quest to find and retrieve the missing jewels for Qayn's crown in hopes to save their empire. I connected more with Taha in this book compared with Imani as he endured a lot of character development; I am eager to see where his character goes in the next installment. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

I am so incredibly disappointed with this book. The three stars are me having mercy. I’m not sure what changed between the first book and this one, but it wasn’t good. I’m ninety percent sure this book is what causes my reading slump. First of all, the plot and characters were really hard to keep track of. Maybe it’s because I was reading on my Kindle and would stop reading for a long time before continuing, but I just could not keep track of who was who or what was what. Second, the characters we did meet felt dull. I don’t know what it was but I had a much harder time connecting with them in this book compared to the first one. I feel like the characters were almost watered down. Third, the love triangle was so weird. It came out of nowhere and it was honestly gross to read about. Imani and Qayn have no chemistry and even if they did, the way the romance was written was just icky. I felt gross reading their scenes together. Honestly, the love triangle felt pointless too and I don’t think it added much to the story. I don’t know. Maybe I’m a hater. Maybe I’m stupid. I’m just incredibly upset by how little I liked this since I was so excited to be reading it.

This book was absolutely everything! I have been waiting for the release of Serpent Sea since I read the final words on the final page of Spice Road and, you guessed it, now I need the third book ASAP. I have so many questions and I need so many answers, Maiya Ibrahim! This is definitely a series worth reading and waiting for.

I was extremely excited to continue Imani's story, and this book did not disappoint! I wish Taha's POV had been first person like Imani's though. For some reason, I found the 3rd person present tense a little jarring. The pacing also felt a little off to me, but not too bad. I really liked exploring more of the world and spending more time with side characters. I also enjoyed learning more about the history of Imani's people.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

I’m going to really, really try and not make this whole review about how much I love Taha, but I can’t make any promises.

I loved Spice Road and had high expectations for this book and it is safe to say they were exceeded! I found Qayn’s lore very interesting and loved the exploration of magical abuse.

The star of the show for me was Taha, my heart bled for that man from start to finish. I read somewhere ‘you’ll never live a life unburdened by what your father thinks of you’ and it’s so Taha x Bayek coded.

The world-building is rich, the character development is flawless (apart from you, Atheer) and the action is packed. Did I mention the gut-wrenching trauma?

I can’t wait for book 3 but, Maiya, I am begging you to look after Taha - I’m not sure how much more he, or I, can take!

I liked this, but a little less than the first book. The pacing felt rushed to me, even though this was over 500 pages. I wish that we could have slowed down a little to enjoy the ride. There was a strange Hunger Games type scene that felt somewhat out of place with the rest of the story. I was also expecting there to be romance, but there wasn’t really any of that in this book. I liked it, but looking forward to getting some answers in the next book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to Delcorte Press for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions below are my own.

I loved last year's debut fantasy The Spice Road, the world building was lush and the characters complex. I was very excited to get my hands on the sequel. This piece of the story shifts from the desert to the oceans where we get a lot more high stakes action against foes both human and not. I won't give too many details as they could be spoilers for book one but again we get multiple POVs and dashes of magic and myth.

This is a solid second book but sadly as a girl who often likes sequels more than the original, this one did not rise to that occasion. Perhaps because the magic was no further fleshed out? We do get some answers to the truth of the myths versus the historical "truths" Imani believes and I thought that was really well done. Looking forward to book 3.

Unfortunately, this was a case of judge the book by its cover. The cover is gorgeous and I really wanted to like the sequel but Spice Road was a major letdown for me and Serpent Sea wasn't any better. I didn't feel any connection or incentive to even pick up this book.

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This is book two of The Spice Road trilogy. I was scared to read it because I loved Spice Road so much, but I am so happy that I was able to read this book because it was great. In this book you will find action, a small amount of romance but enough to leave you wondering who Imani picks in this love triangle . You will find betrayal, loyalty, friendship, great character development and world building.

I really enjoyed getting to know more about Imani, Qayn and Taha. With this book being in two POV’s, Imani and Taha I was a little worried that it wouldn’t work out, but I found it nice to have Taha POV throughout the book and mostly when they get separated, I don’t agree with all the actions that Taha took but I loved his POV. There were some slower parts in this book but for me it was more of world building that the author was giving us and once that slow part was done the book took right off. I loved that this book was about finding Qayn magic to restore himself to a power Djinn, and all because he promised Imani that he would end the war that had started. You will see Imani becoming more understanding about her powers and their ability. I found that with Qayn, she grew more as a character and with having Taha on his own adventure. With Taha I found that he went in the other direction, but I loved getting to see why that happened and understanding more about Taha's character. I loved seeing his POV during these times because my heart went out to him and I wanted to make sure everything would work out for him, but still knowing that his actions during that time would cause him to have to answer a lot of questions.

With Imani… omg girl that love triangle that is coming out more and more in each book was done great. I loved that we got to see the tension and chemistry between Imani and Qayn but still having those feelings come up with Taha as well. I honestly can’t say who I want to be the winner or if I want Imani to choose herself. I am getting to understand the magic system in this book more and seeing what all it was about and what else these characters could do with it.

I found this book to be great and I can’t wait for the next one. I am sorry that my review might be short, but I was worried about spoilers and honestly, I really just want to dive into book three already.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Children for the opportunity to review this book.

This ended up being a DNF for me. I really liked the first book but the second book felt a lot different and it was hard for me to get into. I just wanted intrigued enough in finding out what happened to the characters or their story, especially after seeing some reviews mention no romance which was a big letdown after book one.

11/24/2024 - Updated full review now that I am home

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC! All opinions in this review are my own.

RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS:

3.75 stars. I enjoyed this novel and was excited to continue to story! My biggest hang up is the constant POV changes (I’ll expand on that later) and how the plot did drag quite a bit. Nevertheless I liked it and will continue reading the last book in this trilogy and I’ve already ordered the special edition to match the first.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

---

“In the long grass, the serpent is king. If the lion is wise, he will take care where he steps. This is how you become strong: by knowing where you are weak first.”

(I know this was the first line but I felt like it was a fantastic quote that eclipses the novel as a whole.)

WHAT I LOVED:

- Qayn. No need to say more. I will do anything and everything for more of him on page.
- I loved Imani’s character arc in this! She really grew as an individual and flourished! I really can’t wait to see more of her growth in book 3.
- The novel started out extremely strong and the ending made me really excited to learn more.
- The secrets and betrayals that dropped were shocking and I didn’t see some of them coming!

WHAT I DISLIKED:

- I’ll be honest, we got too much of Taha’s POV. I do think a some of it was necessary and did highlight his mental state and what he was going through, but we didn’t need every other chapter being his with the same “he can do nothing but watch as the world burns” kind of vibe.
- For the middle portion of the book that dragged, it was a lot of “I came. I saw. I conquered.” for new stakes every single chapter.

WHAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT/WANTED MORE OF:

- The trials and games portion of the book felt a little out of place happening at the 70% mark. It would’ve made more sense to condense some of the side plots in the earlier part of the book to have this be more of a focus. I also was a little upset that Imani didn’t get into the trials on her merit alone, Taha saved her and I felt like therefore it caught the attention of their sponsor.
- I am left with some questions at the end with Qayn and how rushed some of the explanations were. It’s like it was all crammed in and there was no time to sit and take it all in.
- I was starting to ship Imani and Qayn until towards the end where it just kind of felt fan servicey and not like a true growth of their relationship. I do hope it doesn’t end up as a love triangle because I don’t think Taha is the one for Imani. You can argue that Qayn isn’t either but they have more in common and respect for each other to build a relationship out of that Imani and Taha just don’t have.

---------------------------------------------

3.75 stars

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC. This review is my own.

Will do a full review when I am back from holiday and not typing on a cell with crappy internet next week.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. This was a 4.5 star read for me! Maiya really grew as an author with this book. Spice road was her debut book and I can tell she really improved in her writing. I appreciated the addition of Taha’s point of view as that really helped round out the story instead of just being inside Imani’s head the entire time. The magic was explored so much more and it was such an interesting part of the story. There are still a lot of unknowns and I’m so curious how the last book will go! Qayn is such an interesting character and I love him even though he’s super unpredictable 😂 Overall I liked this even better than Spice Road! I can tell this series will be a well loved series!

The sequel picks up where we left off in the first book.

I felt like the first part of the book had an engaging storyline and added to the mythos of the land. The middle part was kind of lagging for me. Parts of it don’t seem to fit into the overall plot and only added to making the book feeling too long.

The last 10% though got me right back into it. Enjoyed how it all came together. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger as well. I’ll definitely be reading the conclusion to this trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I absolutely loved this book! Admittedly, I put off reading the arc because I adored the first one and I was afraid Serpent Sea wouldn't live up to my expectations. I shouldn't have been worried because it exceeded my expectations!
At first I was a bit disappointed to see that we get point of view chapters from Taha, but after reading the book I really appreciate that decision. I think it worked well because we get to see the growth that he goes through on the seperate journey that he ends up on away from Imani. He was a very conflicted character in the first book, and in this one we get to see close up how he changes.
I thought I knew the direction this book would take, but I was happily surprised by the turn of events. The Hunger Games-esq battle to the death was very well done, and I appreciated that it was a fairly quick part of the book that was only one step in the journey, rather than taking up all of the book's attention. I love that Imani thwarts the rules a bit and values the lives of the other players even though it's not what the nobles want or how they see it.
I was so surprised by the revelations about who Qayn is and I'm so so excited to see where the next book will go! Which, he is such a fantastic character and I loved all of the flirty banter between him and Imani!
Overall, the book was impeccable. There were lots of unexpected setbacks, but the book never felt like it dragged. The pacing was very well done, and I enjoyed the fairly short chapters and the POV changes that helped it move along. And most importantly, I loved seeing the characters' growth and the lessons they learned along the way. For me, this series is one I'll always hold close to my heart. Maiya Ibrahim is definitely one of my favorite authors!

DNF @ 44%

I thought Spice Road was an alright book and I was interested to see where the series was heading, so I wanted to read this one. It's been a while and I had forgotten most of what happened in it and had to read some summaries and recaps. A lot of stuff came back to me as I kept reading Serpent Sea, but it took a little bit at first.

I received an eARC of this and read that up until about 38%. Then I waited for publication day and got the audiobook so I could try to listen and get through it because I still wasn't hooked. I listened from 38-44% and can honestly tell you nothing of what I heard.

There was a romance brewing in Spice Road which is now basically nonexistent in this book (due to reasons), but I still expected a bit more. Then a love triangle is maybe starting to brew? I can't really tell and it all just seems so uninteresting to me.

The author does do a wonderful job of creating a world and using descriptions to make it all seem very visible in my mind. It wasn't enough to balance out the characters that I never got invested in though.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC of this book. My thoughts are entirely my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this arc in return for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed the story still, for me it wasnt as exciting and thrilling as the first story. I found it difficult with the constant narration change between Imani and Taha, especially as Taha narration I found not as enjoyable. I wish there was maybe a few more chapters in-between the change of narration as then it would have felt more fluid to me as a story, instead of changing the two narrations constantly felt a bit difficult to keep enjoying the story as it would suddenly change to the other side. Besides that I quite enjoyed the story still, as I loved learning more about Qayn and who he really is, and the continuation against the Harrowlanders as they try to find ways to fight back. I do look forward to where the third book will take the journey for all the characters.